OTTAWA – Patrick Brazeau and Mac Harb are scheduled to make their first appearances in an Ottawa courtroom next week to face fraud and breach of trust charges relating to their Senate expenses.
Brazeau, a former Conservative who was suspended from the Senate alongside two of his colleagues last fall, is scheduled to appear next Monday morning, an RCMP spokeswoman said.
Harb, a Liberal who resigned from the upper chamber last summer, is due in court next Tuesday. However, his lawyer Sean May said he will be appearing on Harb’s behalf.
Brazeau and Harb were charged in February with one count each of fraud and breach of trust in relation to their living and housing expense claims.
The maximum penalty upon conviction for breach of trust is five years in prison, while fraud carries a maximum of 14 years.
WATCH: The RCMP formally announce the charges against Brazeau, Harb
Brazeau could not be reached for comment. Both Brazeau and Harb have proclaimed their innocence and said the Senate rules surrounding expense claims were unclear. Harb’s lawyer said after the charges were announced that his client will defend himself “vigorously.”
Police allege Harb declared two country houses as his primary residences, and claimed a Senate housing allowance and living expenses for his secondary residence in Ottawa – where he had lived for years prior to his 2003 appointment to the Senate.
Harb denied wrongdoing, but repaid the Senate $231,649.07.
The Mounties allege Brazeau fraudulently claimed his father’s home in Maniwaki, Que., as his primary residence, although he was rarely seen there and lived primarily just across the river from Ottawa in Gatineau, Que.
Brazeau refused to reimburse the $48,000 he was asked to pay back, prompting the Senate to garnish his salary. He was subsequently suspended without pay from the Senate last fall.
The RCMP is still investigating claims filed by suspended Conservative senators Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy. Police are also investigating Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff Nigel Wright, who personally gave Duffy $90,000 to reimburse the Senate for his disputed living expenses.
Brazeau – who recently began work as a manager at a downtown Ottawa strip club – is also facing charges of assault and sexual assault.
After months of delay, a trial date on those charges is expected to be set next month. Brazeau has pleaded not guilty.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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